Variations on a Finale
by Court Jester 21
Summary: A little therapy for A/W fans. Hoping this helps us all! Spoilers for season 4 finale.
1. What Should Have Happened

_Here's what I have come up with to help us all get over the disappointment of the finale. Let's see if it works!_

_In this first chapter, we will presume that the episode played out exactly the same up until where the story picks up. I had this idea Sunday morning, and was pretty disappointed that these weren't the last two words of the season._

_I don't own these characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here. I'm just trying to relieve some of the pain of not owning them._

**What Should Have Happened**

Alicia nervously fingered her glass of wine, debating if this was the right thing to do. She stared at the dryer and decided that she needed something to keep her busy while she waited. Folding the towels, she kept going over it again and again in her mind. This felt right. Something inside her knew it was wrong, but everything else told her it was right. She couldn't imagine backing out on her decision now, and that had to make it right, didn't it?

Carrying the stack of towels into the bathroom to put them away, she treaded lightly through the darkness of her apartment. The darkness suited her tonight. It matched her mood.

When she returned to the kitchen, she decided that she didn't need to finish that glass of wine. She'd poured a pretty generous glass, and she was already amped up enough. She paced the open rooms, finding herself standing in the entryway, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

"Is this stupid?" she asked herself, still unsure about what would happen next. She breathed in cleansing breath to try and calm her nerves once again. The knock at her door interrupted her thoughts and she turned around gracefully to reach for the knob.

When she swung the door open, she lost the ability to breathe for just a moment. _God he looks good, _she thought to herself. "Hi," she said aloud, her voice betraying the nervousness she was trying to hard to hide.

"Hi," Will said in return, a bit unsure what he was here for. He knew that they needed to talk, but was surprised to hear from her tonight. The way they'd left things, he thought that he'd be the one forcing the issue.

"Come on in," she said, allowing him to pass by her. Will paused in the entryway, waiting for her direction while she closed the door. When she turned around, she found herself closer to him than she could bear. His familiar scent filled her nostrils and brought back countless memories of pleasure with him. Without a hesitation, she threw herself into his arms and began kissing him without abandon.

**TWO MONTHS LATER**

The water was the clearest shade of blue, and the waves crashed perfectly against the sand. It felt like a scene from a movie, but it wasn't. She was really standing here. It seemed more like a dream than reality. The water was too blue, the palm leaves were too green, the sand was too white. And yet, she knew she was really, really here.

The wind blew in her hair, long and free and decorated with white flowers. The wind blew in her white skirt, causing the fabric to ripple around her legs and ankles. It was a wind of change blowing through her.

She wasn't nervous. She wasn't anxious. She was excited. Her future was wide open and she was in charge. That was a new feeling to her. Trying to contain that excitement, she twisted the ring on her finger.

As her mind drifted off, she'd barely heard the words spoken around her. A familiar phrase brought her back to the moment as she realized that she'd be expected to answer soon. As if out of a fog, she could now hear the man clearly as he spoke to her. When his words ended, she knew she had to respond.

"I do," she said, her voice choked with emotion as she stared into Will's clear brown eyes, reflecting the same love she felt.


	2. What Really Did Happen

_Here we go again. . . enjoy!_

_No one here is mine. If I owned them, I wouldn't be writing this chapter. I'd have seen what I wanted to happen on Sunday night!_

**What Really Did Happen**

Alicia stood up from the bed, a million butterflies migrating in her stomach at the sight of Will at their hotel. What was he doing here? Surely he wouldn't try and confront her tonight. Not here. Not tonight. Not with Peter and Eli and Jackie and the kids and all of the campaign staff here. Didn't he understand what tonight was about?

She drew in a breath, stepping closer. She had to stop him. She had to send him home. She'd tell him that they would talk tomorrow. He had to understand that. But she had to get him out of here before Peter saw him.

Just then, the man turned and she saw that it wasn't Will. She had been convinced mere seconds ago that it was him, thought she'd recognized his facial features, but the man in front of her now was most definitely not Will. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She had to get over this. She had to find a way out. She knew she had a way out, but she absolutely did not want to take it.

As she heard Peter's voice calling to her, she snapped back to reality. She had to do this. She had to end it. She had to sever the ties.

In Peter's arms, she convinced him that she was alright. She kept her tone level, she kept her smile certain, and she excused herself as soon as possible. She had to make this work now. She was the First Lady of Illinois. It was time she started to act like it.

In the bathroom, she stared at her reflection. She was going to do this. She was going to take that road that she'd told herself she wouldn't take. It would be hard. It would be impossible, but she knew now that she absolutely had to do it.

She pulled her phone out of her bag, and steeled herself for taking action as she dialed. This was unavoidable. This had to happen and she had to be the one to do it.

The knock at the door was distracting, and the conversation was quick and dull, but she didn't let it sway her. As she made her way through the crowded hallway, she felt ashamed. She knew she shouldn't do this and she knew that she should. She knew that this would be painful, for her, for others, for people that she valued in her life. But she wouldn't let herself stop it now. She'd made a decision and she wasn't turning back. She picked up her head and carried out her plan.

Alone in her apartment, waiting for a knock at her door, she fell into uncertainty again.

Wine. She needed wine.

The dark liquid flowed into her glass and she hoped that she would feel better by the time she finished it. Maybe she should talk to Will before she started this. Maybe she owed him an explanation before she took any action. No. No, she knew she couldn't be alone with him again. It was too much, and soon those moments would be over forever.

Towels. She needed towels.

Her heartbeat rose as she glanced at the door, mindlessly folding the towel in her hands. He would come, wouldn't he? She needed this off her chest. The sooner the better. She put away the towels and didn't know what to do with herself next.

Reassurance. She needed reassurance.

She stared at her reflection in the cold glass. She read the uncertainty on her own features and said her thoughts aloud. "Is this stupid?" she asked the room. Yes, it was. And no, it wasn't. She wouldn't let herself think about it anymore. She was doing it. It was nearly done. There was no use in overanalyzing it.

The knock at the door came and she opened it. A new chapter in her life.

"Thanks for doing this here," she said to Cary.

"No problem," Cary said, pausing to figure out what he was doing here on election night. He thought she was supposed to be the good wife tonight. He didn't understand that that was the reason why he was here. "What are you thinking?"

With an inhale and a nod of certainty, she told him, "I'm in."

_Up next...What should happen next. This one might take me a bit longer to figure out. Suspense is good for you, right? _


End file.
